Nov 21
Nov 21
TC Makers: An Evening With iRobot
Posted in: Today's ChiliDeep in the wilds outside of Boston a team of mad scientists created the ultimate in robotic life: the iRobot Roomba, the ubiquitous, world-famous automatic vacuum that, for many of us, is our first brush with autonomous robotics. The Roomba’s brains came from a military minesweeper, its parts came from kids’ toys, and its mission – to clean up after us puny humans – came from a robotic floor waxer. In short, the Roomba is the culmination of years of research and is one of the most complex and coolest robots we’ve seen.
To mark the launch of the Roomba 800 series I took a walk down random access memory lane with Colin Angle, CEO and founder of iRobot. The affable, wry head of an international corporation lit up as he described the work that went into the Roomba and how the company solved the problem of hair tangling in the Roomba’s brushes. You have to see it to appreciate the dedication this guy has to sucking dirt off of your living room floor.
In this episode of TechCrunch Makers we discuss what it takes to build a cool new consumer product from the ground up and how hard it was to solve the age-old problem of dog hair. Enjoy!
Nov 21
Twitter’s six-second video sharing app Vine is making a play for more markets, announcing today that its apps for iOS and Android have been translated into 19 new languages, plus two more just on Android. Also available on Windows Phone and sporting a user base of over 40 million, a blog post also mentions Vine is working on ways to highlight popular clips on a country-by-country basis. Many of the Vine’s we’ve seen work in any language, but we suppose opening up access to the app to more people will only increase the creativity seen. Now, who can translate “Ooooh, kill ’em” into Polish?
Nov 21
Belkin’s WeMo line of connected outlets, motion sensors and wireless switches has been a solid solution for building out a (relatively basic) home-automation system on the cheap, and now there’s a new product to add to the mix. The WeMo Insight Switch can turn lights and appliances on and off just like its older sibling, but this year’s flavor is significantly smaller and more powerful, too. The Insight adds a nifty consumption-tracking feature, letting you monitor uptime and electricity usage for connected devices. Through the bundled Android or iOS app, you can see how long your television, washing machine or space heater have been operating, and just how much they’ll cost you each month. WeMo Insight is available today for $60.
Filed under: Household
Source: Belkin
Nov 21
Professor X Fires Jubilee
Posted in: Today's ChiliLet’s be honest, some of the superheroes created in the Marvel universe aren’t all that super. Sure, we have some really cool superheroes such as Wolverine, but we also have some really lame superheroes like Jubilee. If you’re unfamiliar with Jubilee, you aren’t missing much. She shoots fireworks out of her fingers.
Comedian Pete Holmes has created a series of skits called “Ex-Men” in which Professor X fires some of the less thrilling X-Men. His latest video is hilarious with the Prof asking Jubilee at one point if she could fire herself because it would be the first thing she’s ever done for the X-Men. He also says at one point that he might give her a call someday if Magneto is ever beating up hippies at Burning Man.
[via Nerd Approved]
Nov 21
Windows Phone owners have long had the option of backing up their photos to SkyDrive, but Microsoft hasn’t extended that courtesy to other platforms so far. The company must be feeling a little more generous today, as it just introduced automatic camera backups to SkyDrive for iOS. The update lets snap-happy users preserve both pictures and video, while the bandwidth-conscious can limit connection types and image sizes. There are a few welcome improvements to the app whether or not you plan to safeguard your gallery, including an iOS 7-themed makeover and the choice of opening documents in either Office Mobile or OneNote.
SkyDrive’s web client is getting a smaller, Facebook-oriented tune-up at the same time. Sharers can now get a preview of what their photos will look like on the social network, upload to existing albums and set permissions before the transfer begins. While the web upgrade isn’t quite as helpful as the new iOS app, it should minimize the chances of any SkyDrive-related social mishaps.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Storage, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft, Facebook
Via: Inside SkyDrive
Nov 21
Stir Kinetic smart desk selling for $3,890, New Yorkers can try before buying
Posted in: Today's Chili
Remember the Stir Kinetic, the standing desk that learns your sitting habits and adjusts the height automatically? Well, it’s going up for sale today and yes, it’s as expensive as we said it would be. As promised, the hardwood desk starts at $3,890, though for now you’ll only need to pay a $300 deposit; the rest will get charged to your account when it ships in April. (The first 50 customers will actually get it in February.) Just so you know what you’re getting into, the desk has a super-minimal design, adorned only by a touchscreen, which you’ll use to lower the desk over its 26-inch range. You can also tap the screen to see how many calories you’ve burned and keep track of how much time you’ve spent standing. There’s also an “Active Mode” that allows the desk to move periodically, encouraging you to take a break. Additionally, the desk has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, along with four USB ports and eight AC sockets — a neat way of ensuring your cables stay put as you move the desk up and down.
As we’ve been saying all along, $3,890 is a heckuva a lot to pay for a desk, so in addition to having deep pockets, you better be sold on the idea that working while standing up is good for your health. If not, the company will be showcasing the desk at an in-person store, but just one: the Wired Web Store at 353 West 14th St. in New York. If you happen to live in the area, you can mosey on down starting December 4th and check it out in person (no purchase necessary if you just wanna get your kicks). As for everyone else, you might just want to revisit our hands-on video and call it a day.
Nov 20
The Lumia 2520 is Nokia’s first Windows tablet — and it may well be its last. By the time Nokia is ready to design a follow-up product, the Finnish firm might officially be a part of Microsoft. For now, though, the Lumia 2520 is about to go on sale worldwide under the Nokia brand, and will compete directly with Microsoft’s Surface 2, the only other Windows RT tablet available right now. Like the Surface, it’s a flagship-caliber device, with a 1080p screen and top-of-the-line processor. But whereas Microsoft sees the Surface as kind of a laptop/tablet hybrid — a real productivity device — the 2520 is, at its heart, just a tablet. The 2520 has no kickstand, no full-sized USB port — not unless you buy the optional keyboard cover, anyway.
Nokia also brought its A-game imaging wise, installing the same camera used on the Lumia 720 (hey, for a tablet that’s actually unprecedented). Additionally, there’s one other thing the 2520 has that the Surface 2 doesn’t: LTE. In fact, you can’t even get the 2520 as a WiFi-only device; you can either buy it unsubsidized for $499, or you can purchase it here in the US for $400 on-contract. So it definitely looks good on paper (and in press photos), but what’s it like to use? Turns out, it’s pretty nice.%Gallery-slideshow122333%
Nov 20
Macy’s tests location-specific store discounts using Apple’s iBeacon (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
The Bluetooth-based iBeacon feature in iOS 7 is theoretically ideal for retailers — they can offer location-sensitive deals without having to track shoppers using GPS. We’re about to find out how well it works in practice, as Macy’s has just started testing Shopkick’s iBeacon-derived ShopBeacon service in a closed beta. Stores in New York’s Herald Square and San Francisco’s Union Square now carry transmitters that send discounts and recommendations to participating iPhone users when they pass nearby. Whether or not Macy’s offers the feature to the public will depend on the success of the trial, but it may not be long before your favorite store is more than eager to greet you.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Via: AppleInsider, GigaOM
Source: Shopkick
Nov 20
Hear Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old instrument play for the first time (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Leonardo da Vinci invented numerous devices that he never built, including the viola organista — a machine-like instrument that combines a harpsichord, an organ and a viola da gamba. This 500-year-old idea is now a reality, however, thanks to Polish musician Slawomir Zubrzycki. His 5,000-hour project faithfully recreates da Vinci’s concept, using a keyboard to press steel strings against moving wheels wrapped in horse hair. The results are sweet-sounding, despite the seemingly odd approach; as you’ll hear in a debut performance after the break, Zubrzycki effectively becomes a one-man string ensemble. While it’s doubtful that you’ll ever find a viola organista in the local music shop, the one-off creation proves that da Vinci knew how to blend technology and art.
[Image credit: Tomasz Wiech AFP/Getty Images]
Source: AFP (The Age)
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.